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Movie review

The Nut Job: Crabby character burdens adventure

Enlarge ImageRequest to buy this photoOpen Road FilmsThe brightest moments in the movie come courtesy of a pug named Precious (Maya Rudolph), who is at first a menace to Surly (voiced by Will Arnett) but soon becomes his adorable accomplice.

A surly squirrel named Surly and his best buddy, Buddy the mute rat, plan a heist to steal
cashews, peanuts and almonds in
The Nut Job.

In other words, cleverness is lacking in the animated feature.

Anti-heroes are the protagonists du jour, and Surly (voiced by Will Arnett) possesses many
familiar flaws.

The selfish scurrier has no interest in helping the other creatures in Liberty Park, where he
lives, even though he has a mind for schemes and his neighbors are entering starvation mode.

After his plan to steal a nut cart goes awry and the park dwellers’ stockpile goes up in flames,
Surly is banished and forced to live in the city. It is a scary proposition, but Buddy tags
along.

There, the pair stumble onto, as Surly calls it, “the lost city of Nutlantis” — or Maury’s Nut
Shop. The store is a front for bank-robbing mobsters but is indeed filled with nuts, and Surly and
Buddy begin plotting a raid.

Meanwhile, Liberty Park’s resident do-gooder, a squirrel named Andie (Katherine Heigl),
negotiates her way onto the break-in crew, although her ultimate goal is saving the park residents.
Surly cares only about No. 1.

The Nut Job is set in the mid-20th century, and there are some mildly amusing reminders of
the era, from mobsters who call women dames to a dame with the film-noirish name of Lana.

Some of the action also harkens back to another time, with sight gags and pratfalls more
reminiscent of Tom and Jerry than recent animated features.

Sometimes, the punch lines land and sometimes they don’t, but the result is pleasantly
nostalgic.

That feeling of been-there, done-that is pervasive, with many of the jokes sounding as if they
were ripped off from other movies.

The brightest moments come courtesy of a pug named Precious (Maya Rudolph), who is at first a
menace to Surly and Buddy but soon becomes their adorable accomplice.

Of all the flaws of
The Nut Job, Surly’s grouchy attitude is one of the hardest to overcome. He isn’t a fun
character to travel with — even when he evolves, predictably, into a kinder, gentler squirrel with
an after-school-special-worthy lesson to share.

When you compare
The Nut Job with the list of children’s movies that also delight adults, it is hard to go
back to the way things were.